Unbroken Bonds
by Jade Cyclone
Summary: Naruto goes out in search of Sasuke like he does every day when there isn't a mission to complete. With a heavy heart he wanders through the trees, but what he finds this time, was unexpected, even by him.


A/N: So this was a random oneshot idea that popped into my head after I went to Toronto this weekend for Anime North '06. ZOMGWHATABLAST. But that's beside the point…there were a bunch of kids dressed up as the Naruto cast there, but there were these two girls who came as Naruto 2 Naruto and Sasuke. They had great costumes. When I asked them to take a picture they asked me what pose I wanted and I shrugged and told them it didn't matter. So they stood a few feet apart and Naruto held out her hand to Sasuke and they linked fingers. They didn't look at each other; instead they looked at the ground, both of them seemingly at a loss. The picture looked so sad it broke my heart. And that's where the inspiration for this story popped up from. It's not a slash fic, it's just my tragic take on the two lost brothers and their difficulty accepting fate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and do not pretend to. Naruto is © Masashi Kishimoto.

…

Naruto slipped his jacket, zipping it up slowly pausing to glance down at Tsunade's necklace resting gently on his collar bone. For a long time his blue eyes remained fixed on the crystal, before he turned his head to glance out his window. Zipping his jacket up the rest of the way, he calmly opened his window and slid easily out onto the window ledge. His eyes followed the faces of the great leaders of Konoha as they stared out over the village.

_Hokage…_

How could he become the ultimate protector of the Hidden Leaf Village if he couldn't even save his best friend?

Lowering his eyes tiredly to the roads beneath him, he jumped, landing neatly on the ground in a crouch before straightening.

"A little early for that, isn't it?"

Naruto blinked and turned around to find Kakashi leaning against the wall of a nearby building, his nose in his favorite book. He shrugged, for once in his life unable to find his voice to speak a reply. He opted to shrug, and continue on his way. Kakashi watched him for a moment debating on whether or not he should say something. In the end he decided that in this case, silence was the smartest remark. Naruto wasn't in the mood to talk. He respected that.

The blonde ninja gave a short sigh of relief when Kakashi returned to reading his book instead of halting him for a lecture. He was already late.

His eyes grew dull at the thought.

Taking a deep breath he leapt onto the roof of the nearest building, hopping from rooftop to rooftop until he reached the mighty gates of Konoha. Sakura sat on top of the great wall, but he didn't seem to notice as he passed over the tall stone barrier, without missing a beat, and launched himself into the trees. Sakura watched as his chi faded with a pained expression. The wind kicked up her hair.

_Be safe…Naruto._

He didn't know how long he had been running. He never did. He was a fair distance from the city, that was all that was clear. Slowing to a stop, Naruto leapt down from the trees and onto the ground.

He glanced around briefly.

His eyes fell to the grass a few feet ahead of him. There was something in the dirt…something dark. Naruto felt the skin on the back of his neck crawl as he stepped forward to inspect the strange substance. Reaching for the dark stain in the grass, he dipped his fingers into the puddle. An ominous smell filled his nostrils as he ran his thumb over the liquid on his fingers.

Blood.

Flicking it away he stood, his senses surveying the area. He couldn't sense a threat in the area, and by the smell of rotting flesh, the kill had happened hours ago. He blinked. Rotting flesh…?

Furrowing his brows, he pulled back the branches of the bush from where the stain seemed to have originated. Naruto's eyes widened. One of the ANBU members had been slain. There was a gaping hole in his chest that seemed to be seared open at the edges, as if the fire of hell itself had ripped his flesh apart. A glint of metal caught his eye.

Letting go of the branches gently he left the body and moved cautiously towards the object lying in the grass a few feet away. It was a kunai knife, dripping with blood and…something else. Naruto picked it up carefully, sniffing at the clear substance mixing with the blood. Poison.

He glanced back at the fallen black op. and then around the area, his whole body tense, waiting for some sign. It unsettled him, seeing such an elite member of the Konoha ninja lying in a pool of his own blood, his skin cold and lifeless. Although the attack seemed to have happened at least an hour ago, Naruto remained where he was, crouched low to the ground with the poisoned kunai still clutched in his fist, stretching his senses, waiting, waiting for anything to happen.

Anything at all.

With a sigh the blonde ninja stood, glancing at the kunai and then out into the trees one more time before turning to gather the body and return to Konoha. It would be cumbersome, but he couldn't just leave him. He didn't know how to properly dispose of a ninja's body, and soon the smell would give it away to anyone else who passed.

"_A ninja's body will give away the secrets of ninja techniques and Chakra of the village it was in …in the worse case scenario, there's a possibility that the techniques will be stolen…"_

He didn't have a choice.

Kneeling down beside the bush again, he lifted the branches, driving the poisoned kunai into the ground beside him to free his hand. The grass instantly withered where the blade had penetrated the earth. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sugoi…"

His breath caught in his throat at the sound of a tremendous splash in the distance. Instantly he was on his feet, his own kunai held in the defensive position in front of his chest. His eyes darted from tree to tree, blinking away the beads of sweat that had dripped off his brow.

Suddenly he was running in the direction of the sound. Something wasn't right. There was no murderous intent, no traps—nothing. An ANBU member was dead in the middle of the forest and there wasn't even a trace of a battle besides the poisoned kunai. It was as if he'd been struck by lightning.

He broke through the underbrush, leaping into a tree and across the branches towards the water. He could hear it now, the rushing of a river not to far ahead of him. He flickered into sight still high in one of the trees overlooking the water.

He choked.

Leaping into the air with a yell, he hurled a shuriken at the figure being swept away by the river. It caught the arm of a robe, pinning the fabric to a rock with a loud crack. The body stopped moving with a jolt, the water submerging everything but a pale hand.

Naruto was on the rock in seconds, tears of frustration pooling in his eyes as he struggled to pull the figure out of the water. The current was so strong…

With a loud yell he finally tore the body free of the rapids, water exploding upwards, drenching him. He fell backwards onto the rock heavily, coughing when the other person landed on his chest, unmoving. Naruto scrambled to turn him over, tearing the shuriken from the rock. Panting, he brushed the dripping bangs from a pale cheek, his eyes traveling over his soaked clothing…his blue lips…

"Sasuke!" he yelled, shaking the other boy hard. His head lolled to the side.

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed at him, shaking him harder and harder. Nothing.

"You bastard!" he cried, curling his hands into fists. This couldn't be how it was going to end.

"YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, slamming his fist into Sasuke's chest. Falling forward, helpless, Naruto cried into his brother's robes.

"Why…" he whispered mournfully. "You can't…I made a promise…"

He cried harder.

Suddenly Sasuke's chest heaved with a violent gasp, and he choked, blood and water spilling out over his lips. Naruto sat bolt upright, only hesitating a fraction of a second in surprise before grabbing his fallen friend and sitting him up.

Sasuke lowered his head, hacking up blood and water, gasping for breath while Naruto held him up, unsure of whether to be wary or relieved. The blonde ninja tensed when Sasuke reached up, fisting his shaking hand in the fabric of his jacket.

"You…total…moron…" he breathed.

Naruto didn't have time to react, the Chidori exploding to life in Sasuke's hand erupted through him, tearing apart the sleeve of his shirt, searing his flesh.

He screamed over the high whine of Sasuke's attack as he was thrown backwards off the rock, lighting crackling around his body. He hit the river with an enormous splash, gasping, choking on the water. He fought, kicked as hard as he could against the current. He couldn't breathe. He didn't know which way was up. He wasn't strong enough...

Finally his head broke through to the surface and he splashed wildly, treading the water as he desperately tried to make his limbs work properly. They were shaking, he felt as if his entire body was just one huge mass of gelatinous waste. His eyesight was blurry, but he managed to find a rock and hold on. With all the strength he had left he slammed a kunai into the boulder to keep him steady. He was safe—for now.

Still panting, he whipped his head around. Sasuke was still on the rock ahead of him, but he was clutching his arm, his face contorted horribly in pain. Naruto watched in confusion as he leaned forward and wretched, his pale face seeming to drain of all color. Slowly, Naruto struggled to pull himself onto the rock, crouching with a wince before leaping into the air and landing hard on his knees next to his friend.

Sasuke made a swipe at him, nearly too fast to be seen, but Naruto caught it even though his hands were still trembling from the last attack. Sasuke snarled, the Sharingan flickering to life in his eyes for a split second before fading along with his strength. His hand twitched in Naruto's grip, a few sparks of lightning still jumping across his fingertips.

When he raised his other arm to shove him away, Naruto closed his eyes angrily, and punched Sasuke in the face. The sound echoed across the water as Sasuke's body fell back to the rock with a smack, a thin line of blood sliding down his cheek. For a long time, Naruto watched his prone body, his hand still fisted as if he wanted to punch Sasuke again and again and again until he came to his senses.

"_Even if I have to break every bone in your arms and legs, I'll stop you!"_

After a few more seconds he let go of Sasuke's arm, watching as it dropped to the rock with an unreadable expression. And as he watched the unconscious form of his best friend something clicked into place, making his heart hammer in his chest. The ANBU member…slain as if struck by lightning…the poisoned kunai…

Naruto was over Sasuke in a flash, searching his robes. Finally he found it, a deep gash in his arm, festering with poison, the skin around the wound a sick, yellowish color. The black op. had managed one hit before Sasuke had torn him apart with the Chidori.

One hit was all he needed.

Naruto panicked. Lifting Sasuke easily into his arms, he did his best to jump lightly from rock to rock until he was close enough to the shore to walk on the water. He struggled to mold his Chakra just long enough to make it to shallow water. He tripped, his knees hitting the soft mud. Lowering Sasuke to the ground from his back, he pulled the limp figure off of the bank and onto the grass, looking around worriedly. What could he do? He wasn't a medical ninja and he didn't have enough Chakra to get them back to Konoha.

Gripping the fabric of his pants as he kneeled beside Sasuke, Naruto felt the anger rise up in him again.

"Why…why are you so selfish?" he hissed, glaring at Sasuke's body. "Why do you always make things so difficult!"

Stumbling to his feet, Naruto gathered some firewood, his only option to wait until morning when he had rested to take them back. If he could just keep Sasuke alive through the night, maybe they had a chance.

When he returned Sasuke was burning up, sweat glistening on his face which had begun to lose its color once again. Desperately, Naruto yanked Sasuke's robes off his torso, exposing his chest and his arms to the cool air. Tearing one of the sleeves off of Sasuke's shirt, he ripped it into smaller pieces with his teeth. Laying them on the grass beside himself, he pulled out his kunai. He hesitated momentarily before driving the blade into the wound.

Sasuke screamed, his eyes flying open as Naruto fought to hold him down. He thrashed wildly, but Naruto wouldn't move. Holding on for a few more seconds, he ripped the knife from Sasuke's arm and placed one knee on his chest, the other on his wrist, keeping his arm still as the blood poured out over the wound, and Naruto hoped, bleeding out at least some of the poison. Gradually Sasuke's attempts to fight back grew weaker until they stopped altogether. Naruto released him and bandaged the wound looking his friend over. Sasuke was panting, his eyes half-lidded and glazed over. Naruto doubted he could see anything.

He was dying.

"Kuso…"

Taking the remainder of Sasuke's sleeve, he jogged back down to the river and dipped it in the cool waters. Ringing it out a bit, he brought it back to Sasuke, and gently folded it, placing the cold fabric on his forehead. He flinched, turning his head in discomfort, but Naruto made sure the cloth stayed in place. Kneeling back down, he put his hand in the grass to steady himself, blinking when his palm snapped the stiff stem of a small plant beneath his hand. He picked it up, studying it for a moment.

"_So what are you doing here?" _

"_Collecting medicinal herbs."_

"_Herbs?"_

"_Yes, that's right. For healing injuries and illnesses."_

Naruto's eyes widened. He didn't know what the poison was, and even if he did he had no hope of finding the antidote out here by himself, but maybe…

He looked around, finding another plant and another, just like Haku had shown him so long ago. When he had a fair amount, he began peeling the leaves off, all the while watching Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. In the academy, they were taught that certain types of plants were good to eat, while others were bad, and the best way to extract the nutrients was to crush the leaves. Haku had taught him which plants were medicinal, so there was still a chance he could get Sasuke through the night. It was a long shot, but he would take it. He had to.

After he had finished peeling the leaves from the plants, he made his way back down to the river and waded into the shallows again, searching with his hands in the water. Finding what he needed, he returned to the shore carrying two rocks, one larger than the other. Setting them down, he placed the leaves on the larger one, and set to work crushing them with the smaller rock. He winced, his muscles protesting.

Sasuke was faring no better. His cheeks were tinged pink from his fever, and although the bleeding had stopped, the yellow hue around his wound was beginning to spread. He swallowed dryly, practically gasping for breath.

Naruto worked harder.

When he was finished, he changed Sasuke's bandage, again, driving his kunai into the wound. It was getting harder to stop Sasuke from fighting back, but he couldn't tell whether it was because Sasuke was recovering or he was getting weaker. But this was the only way. This time, however, he spread the greenish paste he'd made from the herbs onto the bandage before securing it around Sasuke's arm. He made small noises in protest but stopped fighting back. Relieved, Naruto released him again, falling backwards onto the grass. He was spent.

Slowly he pushed himself up.

There was still more to do. Gathering the sticks he's picked up earlier, he started a fire and re-soaked the cloth on Sasuke's forehead before collapsing onto his stomach beside his friend. It was dark now.

Naruto felt his eyes growing heavy, his body urging him to rest. But he continued to watch Sasuke as he fought for his life, his skin glowing eerily in the firelight. Reaching out to him, Naruto slipped his hand into Sasuke's.

He lifted his head in surprise when Sasuke's hand closed over his, desperately.

"_Why…why do you go so far just for me?"_

"_Because to me…you represent bonds I've waited for so long to make."_

Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand in response, resting his head back on the grass. He closed his eyes.

"_Geez…you…always get in the way…"_

…

"_Why did you save me!"_

…

"_You total moron…"_

…

"_I'm not going to lose to you!"_

…

"_I…hated you…" _

…

"_We both made it to the top!"_

…

"_That man…my brother…I told myself I wouldn't die before I killed him…"_

…

"_Sasuke!"_

…

"_You…Don't die."_

…

"_You were my inspiration."_

…

"_I want to fight you too."_

Sasuke…

"_I was so happy…when you said that."_

Sasuke…?

"_Naruto!"_

Sasuke!

Naruto sat bolt upright, his eyes flying open with a snap. The events of the previous night flooded his memory and with wild eyes he looked down to where Sasuke had been lying beside him.

He was gone.

All that was left was the smoldering embers of a fire, and the torn fabric he'd used on Sasuke's forehead. His hand curled into a fist in the dirt. Swallowing his frustration he stood, stamping out the fire. Slowly he made his way back to the body of the ANBU squad member and lifted it onto his back, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He'd been gone all night. Soon, the rest of the black ops would find him. They would ask questions. Glancing one more time over his shoulder, he stared determinedly out into the trees.

"I'm going to find you Sasuke. I'm going to save you like you couldn't save _your_ brother…for both of us."

Leaping into the trees, Naruto began his way home.

"My Sasuke-kun, what a chivalrous friend you have," Kabuto chuckled, watching as Naruto carried the body off into the trees.

Turning back to Sasuke, he reached for the bandage on his arm. He had extracted the poison and had given the younger ninja the proper antidote, but he still need to heal the wound itself. Without a warning, Sasuke's fist connected with his jaw, sending him crashing into a nearby tree with a sickening crack. Kabuto narrowed his eyes, pushing himself up off the ground. Sasuke's were shaded by his long bangs as he lowered his hand.

"Leave me alone."

Kabuto remained where he was and wiped the blood off his chin. Suddenly Sasuke's head snapped in his direction, the Sharingan blazing to life in his black eyes.

"_Leave,_" he hissed.

The white haired ninja waited only a moment longer before flickering away, his Chakra fading with him. For a long time Sasuke didn't move. His Sharingan faded gradually and he turned his head back, looking down at his hand.

"You're wrong Naruto…" he whispered, closing his hand into a fist. "If you want to save me…you're going to have to hate me first. The only way to cure this hatred inside me is death. Your herbs won't work next time."

The wind kicked up his hair and in a rustle of leaves, he was gone.

…

A/N: All of those quotes towards the end came from the Wave Country Arc and the Sasuke Retrieval Arc starting with Sasuke and then Naruto and so on. The earlier quotes were also from those two arcs, the first being Kakashi's quote during the Wave Country Arc explaining the reason why Hunter-Ninja exist, and the second from Sasuke's and Naruto's final battle in Part one of the Naruto series. If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to review. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and as always, thank you for reading!

Itami hodoki, kokoro hodoki, kage wo hodoki.

_Unite the pain, unite the heart, and unite the shadow. _


End file.
